Safety express-car



, (No Model.) s sheets-sheet 1.

B. J. TEGETHOPF. SA-PBTY EXPRESS OAR. No. 525,634.

PatentedSept. 4, 1894.

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.(No Model'.\ 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

B". J. TEGETHOPF. SAFETY EXPRESS GAR.

No. 525,634. v Patented'Sept. 4, 1894.

THE mums PETERS cu. Moro-urns WASHINGTON. o. c.

(No Model.) Q a sheetssheet a. B. J. TEGBTHOPP.

SAFETY EXPRESS GAR.

No. 525,634. Patented Sept. 4, 1894. 3

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BERNARD J. TEGETHOFF, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

SAFETY EXPRESS-CAR.

SPECIFICATION forming Part of Letters Patent No. 525,634, datedSeptember 4, 1894.

' Application filed May 15, 1893.

To all whom it may concern: 1

Be itknown that I, BERNARD J. TEGETHOFF, of the city of St. Louis andState of'Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inSafety Express-Oars, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming apart hereof.

My invention relates to safety express cars, and it consists in thenovel construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafterspecified and designated in the claims.

The object of my invention is to provide a novel construction in expresscars, mail cars 01' other vehicles in which treasure or valuables are tobe transported, whereby robbers and others may be effectually foiled intheir intent to surreptitiously take and carry away the treasure orvaluables contained in said cars or vehicles, and be punished by theauthorized person or persons in charge of the same.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation of an expresscar constructed in accordance with my invention, the section being takenon the line A-A of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view of same withparts broken away, taken on the line BB of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detailview in perspective of a portion of the outer side wall of a metallicchamber, with a safety-device applied thereto. Fig. 4 is a sectional endelevation taken on the line C--O of Fig. 1, and looking at the door'ofthe metallic chamber which opens upon the interior of the car. Fig. 5 isasimilar view lookin g at the opposite side of said door. Fig. 6 is adetail view in perspective of mechanism for operating and locking theside doors of the car. Fig. 7 is a detail view in perspective ofportions of one end of the metallic chamber, showing the locking devicesupon the inner side thereof. Fig. 8 is a sectional detail elevation ofthe same with parts broken away. Fig. 9 is a sectional side elevationtaken on the line A-A of Fig. 2, and showing the operation of themechanism for opening and locking the side doors of the car, with partsbroken away. Fig. 10 is a similar view with the parts in a difierentposition. Fig. 11 is a continuation of Fig. 10. Fig. 12 is a detail viewin perspective, showing portions of the interior of the metallicchamber.

Serial No. 474,240. (No model.)

Fig. 13 is a similar detail view showing the construction of the peep orloop-holes and the slides which cover them. Fig. 14 is a detail view inperspective, showing the handhold at the lower end of the rock-levers atthe end of the car.

plate or sheet metal. This metallic compartment is preferably located onthe car or vehicle in the position usually occupied by one of the endplatforms, although it may be located in any position upon the car orvehicle. The metallic compartment extends from the floor of the carupward to the roof thereof,

but its horizontal length is preferably greatly in excess of its widthwith its bodyprovided with extensions 5 which project a distance beyondthe sides of thecar, and the sides of said extensions which are adjacentthe sides of the car are provided with one or more loop or peep-holes 6which may closed or opened at the pleasure of the operator from theinterior only of said metallic compartment, by means of vertical slides7 which are provided witha suitable hand-hold 8 and are supported inposition over said loop or peep-holes by means of metallic straps 9which embrace the inner side of said slides and have their ends securedto the inner wall of said extensions by means of rivets 10 or otherfastening de vices.

The loop or peep-holes 6 are preferably in the form of horizontal slotshaving a length considerably of a number of times in excess of theirwidth, and the slides 7 are normally supported to cover said holes orslots and project a distance beyond both their ends and sides. Theslides move vertically and they are limited in their downward movementby means of pins 11 or other projections .upon their inner facescomingin contact with'the upper edge of the metallic straps 9. Theseslides retain their normal. position overth holes by .the action ofgravity. The upper portion of each slide 7 is sufficiently wide to coverthe slots or holes, but the lower portion is cut away or narrowed at 12and still further narrowed at 13,so that the operator may elevate theslide a certain distance and uncover a portion of a slot to form a smallpeephole, or he may elevate said slide still further and uncover agreater portion of a slot, or he may elevate said slide still furtherand uncover all of a slot or hole, for a purpose hereinafter mentioned.

The metallic chamber is entirely devoid of windows with the exception ofa skylight 14: formed in the top or root, but this is not absolutelyessential, and in case it is made use of,I provide immediately beneathit a metallic platform 15 having vertical side flanges 16, the upperedges of which project a distance above the upper surface of saidmetallic platform. The upper edges of the flanges 16 are located so nearto the roof 17 of the metallic compartment as to leave such a smallspace that it will be impossible for the body of a man to pass throughsaid space.

18 indicates strong wire netting, or a netting made of metallic rodsplaced vertically upon each side of the skylight 14 beneath the same andconnecting with the metallic platform 15 and with the roof of the car,so as to prevent entrance of a robber by way of the skylight through themetallic compartment, and also to prevent the passage of bullets whichmay be discharged downward through said skylight by robbers climbingupon the roof of the car. Even if bullets should pass through thenetting 18 they would strike the vertical flanges 16 and be interceptedin most cases, but should they pass above said flanges they could notharm the occupant of the metallic compartment, because they would beintercepted by horizontal metallic platforms 19located one upon eachside of said platform-15 ata slight distance below the plane thereof.The platforms 19 have their outer edges secured to the ends of thecompartment so thattheir inner edges are free. Vertical flanges 20 areformed upon the free inner edges of said platforms 19 and project adistance above the upper surface thereof, so as to act as a shield inintercepting glancing bullets or missiles.

Communication between the interior of the car and the metallic chamberis had by way of a door 21, which is preferably made of metal andprovided with strong hinges upon theexterior of the said chamber, so asto open outward with relation to said chamber. Cut in this door arepeepor loop-holes 22 which are covered by slides 23 located upon theinterior of said chamber. The door 21 is locked or secured also upon theinterior of said chamber, by means of a suitable bar or latch 24pivotedat 25 to the door and engaging a keeper 26 upon the interior ofsaid chamber. The ends of said chamber are also provided with doors 27,constructed of metal or other bullet proof material, and which areprovided with strong hinges and arranged to open inward. The doors 27are also provided with peep or loop-holes 22 which are identical with 7cthe peep or loop-holes formed in 'the door 21.

The doors 27 are barricaded by means of peculiar bars 28, which are ofsuch length as to extend entirely across said doors and permit theirends to project a distance beyond the door openings. I (See Figs. 7 and8.) One end of the bars 28 is pivoted upon a-headed bolt or stud 29. Theperforation 30 in each bar engages the body of the bolt, but the size ofthis perforation will not permit it to pass over the head of said bolt.

The body of the bolt is provided with a flattened portion 31 which isengaged by the aperture in the bar so as to permit the bar to be swungupward to avertical position in the -manner shown in Fig. 8 when it isdesired to open the door. For holding the bar elevated in this manner,it is provided with a slot 32 which extends longitudinally of the barwith one of its ends communicating with the aper- 9o ture 30 therein.The width of this slot is such that when the bar 28 is elevated to theposition just described it will gravitate downward until the slot 32 isengaged by the flattenedportion 31 of the bolt, and said bar willthereby be held in such position.

When the doors 27 are to be closed and locked, the bars28 are removedfrom the position indicated in Fig. 8 by elevating them a slightdistance until the flattened portions 31 of the bolts 29 are disengagedfrom said slots, when said bars 28 may be turned down and dropped behinda keeper 33 havinga free upper end and secured upon the interior of themetallic chamber upon the sides of the door openings which are oppositethe headed bolts 29, thereby securely barricading the doors.

In some cases I find it is desirable that the occupant of the chambermake his escape therefrom secretly, and in such cases he may do so byway of a door opening 34 formed in the metallic platform 15 in the topof the said chamber, whence he may pass out through the skylight. Thisdoor opening 34 is closed by a door 35 which is provided with hinges atone edge and a latch or bolt 36 and a keeper 37 at the opposite edge, soas to open inward and be controlled from the interior of said chamber.In other cases, the occupant may desire to make a secret exit by way oftrapdoors 38 made of metal and located one above each of the car-steps39 beneath the metallicchamber. The doors 38 also open inward and areprovided with the usual hinges and latch 40 and keeper 41, upon theinterior of the chamber.

The outer side of the metallic chamber is provided with a metallic door42 which is provided with the usual hinged latch and keeper, so as toopen inward and be controlled from the interior of said chamber. Thehinges and barricading devices 'upon this door may be identical withthose located upon the door 21 or the doors 27. It will be observed thatthe doors 21 and 42 are opposite, so that if necessary, while the trainis running, a clear passage way may be provided from the platform of thenext adjacent car through the metallic chamber and into the express car.

The car or vehicle is provided with the usual opposite door openings 43in its sides which are closed by the sliding doors 44 suspended from ahorizontal strap 45 by means of hangers 46.

By my invention I provide an improved mechanism whereby each of thesedoors may be opened and closed from the interior of the metallicchamber.

As the mechanism for operating each door is identical I will limit mydescription in a corresponding manner.

Formed in the end of the car on each side of the door 21 is a verticalslot 47, and formed in the inner side wall 48 of the metallic chamber oneither side of the door 21 is a vertical 1 slot 49, having a lengthconsiderably less than that of the slots 47. The slots 47 and 49 on eachside of said door register or communicate.

The lower ends of the short slots 49 and the lower ends of the slots 47terminate at a point some distance above the floor 50 of the car.

A vertical rock lever 51 is pivotally mounted at 52 intermediate of itslength in the slot 47, so that when its upper end is thrown into theposition shown. in Figs. 9 and 10 its lower end will pass through theslot 49 and project within the metallic chamber. The lower portion ofthis lever is provided with a suitable hand held 53, by means of whichthe operator may rock said lever during operation. The lower end of thelever 51 and the slot 49 are protected by means of a metallic casing 54which is substantially L-shaped in cross section and is arranged withvertical flanges which are securely riveted or bolted to the side of thecar and the end thereof. The walls of said casing 54 are separated adistance from the slot in the end of the car, so as to leave a space,and in this space a dog 55 is pivoted at 56 to the side of the car so asto automatically drop downward and retain the lever 51 in the positionshown in Fig. 10, for a purpose hereinafter mentioned.

The upper portion of the lever 51 is provided with a strong eye orstaple 57. Firmly secured upon the inner surface of the door 44 are twovertical bars 58 and 59, the bar 58 being preferably located adjacentthe edge of the door which is nearest the metallic chamber. The upperend of the bar 58 projects a distance above the track 45, while theupper end of the bar 59 projects a distance above the end of the bar 58.

Loosely mounted upon the inner side of the car so as to slide in strapsor brackets 60 is a stout horizontal bar 61, which is mounted above theplane of the door so that its inner end will be free and loosely engagethe bar 58' at a point adjacent the upper end thereof.

The end of the horizontal bar which is next adjacent the metallicchamber is connected to the eye or staple 57 carried by the rockbar 51,by means of a connecting-rod 62.

The door 44 is adapted to be locked and unlocked by means of a latch 63pivoted at 64 to the side of the car and provided with a downwardlyprojecting end 65 which is adapted to engage an eye or staple 66 carriedby the edge of the door.

67 indicates a bar having an inclinedlower edge 68 and pivotallyattached at 69 to the side of the car so that its free end will projectabove the bar 61, and engage an incline 70 formed upon the upper edge ofsaid bar 61. The free end of the pivoted bar 67 is connected to thelatch 63, at a point intermediate of the ends of said latch, by means ofa connecting-rod'71. The normal position of these parts is that in whichthey are shown in Fig. 1.

For closing the door and locking same from the interior of the metallicchamber I have provided a horizontal rod 72, the inner end of which isconnected to the upper portion of the long vertical bar 59 carried bythe door, and this rod extends along the side of the car to a pointadjacent the metallic chamber, being supported loosely by eyes or othersutable devices 73.

The door 44 is normally held closed by means of a counterbalanceorweight 74 sliding loosely in a vertical metallic chamber 75 which issecured to the outer wall of the metallic safety. inclosureor chamber 4.The chamber 75 in which the weight 74 is mounted, acts as a guide forsaid weight during the movement of the same. The upper end of thechamber 75 is open.

A chain, rope or cable 76 has one of its ends connected to the free endof the horizontal rod 72 and its opposite end connected to the weight74, said chain, rope or cable passing over a pulley 77 or roller securedto the side of the safety chamber at a point directly above the openupper end of the guidechamher for said weight.

Projecting from the wall of the'metallic safety-chamber 4 just beneaththe pulley or roller 77 is a hook or similar device 78, the purpose ofwhich appears further on.

The operation is as follows: Promising-that the vehicle is anexpress-car, should a robbers signal be given, the express-messengerwill immediately retire to the metallic safety chamber 4, the partsbeing in normal position shown in Fig. 1. Then the messenger should barthe door 21,and all the doors leading into said chamber, in which caseitis ap parent that the messenger will be entirely safe from intrusion.safety -chamber, however, the messenger should look his safe, or removethe valuables therefrom to said safety-chamber. He may then open theside doors 44 of the car by taking hold of the hand-holds 53 of thelevers 51 and pulling the lower ends of said levers Prior to enteringthe inward a short distance until the dogs 55 drop downward to theposition shown in Fig. 10. The door will then be opened but a slightdistance the horizontal bar 61 having been moved toward the door and itsincline has come in contact with the incline 68 of the pivoted bar 67and has elevated the free end of said bar also the connecting rod 71 andthe free end of the door latch 63 and has thereby disengaged the hook 65of said latch from the eye or staple 66 of the door 44, therebyunlocking the door. And as the movement of said bar 61 has continued,its free end has come in contact with the projecting upper portion ofthe short vertical bar 28 on said door, and has pushed the door open tothe position indicated in Fig. 10. The door may be locked in thisposition, so as not to be either closed or further opened by the robberor robbers upon the outside of the car, by twisting or securing thechain about the hook 7 S in the safety-chamber, said hook preventing thedoor from being further opened, and the dog 55 preventing the door frombeing closed. The messenger, with door 44 in this partially openedposition, may come out of the safety-chamber and peep or fire shots atthe robbers through the partially opened door 44, and again return tothe said safety-chamber. Or the messenger may again secure himselfwithin the safety-chamber and by means of the hand holds 53 in therockbars 51, he may throw the doors 44, or either of them, further openas shown in Fig. 9, and thereby permit the robbers to enter the car, andthen he may quickly close said door or doors 44 and capture the robbersin the car, by simply releasing the chain 76 from the hook 78, theweight 74 quickly drawing the door to the normal closed position andreturning all the parts to normal positions, as shown in Fig. 1, andbefore the robbers have had time to destroy or release the fastenings ofthe door, the messenger may uncover the loop holes 22 in the door 21 andfire upon and kill the robbers contained within the car, if he sodesires, or the messenger may capture the robbers alive by making hisexit through any one of the doors 27, 35 or 38 and securing help for thepurpose of making the capture alive.

From the above it will be readily perceived that the express messenger,when he retires to the safety-chamber 4, has full command of both theinterior of the car and the exterior of the same, and by the secureconstruction of said safety chamber he is perfectly secure from beingshot or otherwise molested by the robbers whether they be locatedwithout or within said car.

By means of the extensions 5 of the safetychamber projecting outwardbeyond the sides of the car, the express messenger or other authorizedparty within the said chamber, may have perfect command of both sides ofthe car, and may peep or fire through the loopholes 6 in the walls ofsaid extensions, and thereby kill or maim the robbers while they are yetupon the outside of the car.

What I claim is 1. In combination with an express car,a rectangularinclosure located upon the platform of said car, and the length thereofinexcess of the width of the car so as to form.

that portion of the projections which extend at right angles with thesides of the car provided with a series of loopholes, a plate having adoor therein connected to the lower edge of the inclosure adjacent eachend thereof, which covers the space over the steps, and the doortherein, in connection with the d r in the adjacent end of theinclosure, allowing admittance to the inclosure when the car is at astation,-and means for locking said doors when the car is on the road,substantially as set forth.

2. In a device for opening and automatically closing the side-doors ofthe burglar proof express car herein described, a bar 59 connnected tothe inner side of each of said doors and projecting a distance above theupper end thereof, a rod 72 connected to the up per projecting end ofsaid bar and extending toward and terminating a distance back from theend of the car upon which the inclosure is located, a chain 76 connectedto the free end of said rod and extending through an aperture formed inthe side of the car and across the inclosure adjacent the roof thereof,thence over apulley 77, which is connected to the projections beyond thesides of the car, and

side of the inclosure, and thence downward into a metallic chamber 75,the lower end of said chain being constructed with a weight, a lever 51fulcrumed at 52 ina vertical opening in the end of the car adjacent theinclosure, a rod 62 connected to the upper end of said lever andconnected to a sliding-bar 61 which is mounted in suitable brackets 60connected to the side of the car, a bar 67 pivoted at 69 having anincline 70, which is constructed to be engaged by the incline 68 of thebar 61, and a rod 71 connected to the free end of the bar 67 andconnected toahook 63 which is pivoted at 64 to the side of the car, saidhook constructed to engage an eye 66 carried by the door for retainingsaid door in a closed position, all arranged to operate in the mannersubstantially as herein specified.

3. In combination with an express car having an opening in which asky-light 14 is constructed in the hood thereof, a rectangular inclosurehaving an open side and doors in its ends and floor, a platform 19connected to each of the ends and projecting inward therefrom inhorizontal alignment with each other, a vertical projection 20 formed onthe inner end of each of said platforms, a platform 15 having an opening34 and vertical projections 16, located within the inclosure and transrre versely thereof beneath the sky-light and nected to the upper surfaceof the platform above the horizontal plane of the platforms 15,substantially as herein specified. 1.0 19, a, door 35 hinged to theunder side of said In testimony whereof I aflix my signaturein platformfor closing the opening therein, presence of two witnesses.

means for retaining said door in a. closed posi- 7 BERNARD J. TEGETHOFF.tion, and wire-netting 18, one edge connected Witnesses:

to the under side of the hood adjacent each E. E. LONGAN,

side of the sky-light, and the lower edge con- J NO. 0. HIGDON.

